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Saturday, December 01, 2012

Cavanaugh: Sanchez ‘inconsistent’ but improving

The question asked of Jets quarterback coach Matt Cavanaugh was straightforward. And so was his answer.

How do you evaluate Mark Sanchez this season?

“Inconsistent,” Cavanaugh replied.

Thus began his honest assessment of the fourth-year quarterback. Cavanaugh then dove into the biggest reason for the quarterback’s struggles: Turnovers, especially in the red zone.

This season Sanchez, 26, has thrown 10 interceptions and fumbled 10 times—the last of which came on the infamous “butt fumble” when he ran into guard Brandon Moore’s behind. And Cavanaugh pointed out that the red-zone interception in the loss in Seattle “was just really—to me—a bone-headed play.”

“A couple of the interceptions he’s thrown, especially in the red zone, have hurt us,” Cavanugh said. “And we’re still working on it. ... [But] he’s still a young quarterback. And you’ve got to experience some of these setbacks. You’ve got to make some mistakes and learn from it.”

Cavanaugh said he is “generally pleased” with Sanchez’s development. One of the examples of progress has been improving his body language after getting knocked to the ground.

“He looked like a limp fish sometimes, and it took him forever to get off the ground,” the coach said. “And he looked like he just lost his puppy. He’s understanding now that through off-season lifting and staying strong that it’s a physical game and I’ve got to bounce back up.”

Cavanaugh acknowledged that he also has spoken to Sanchez about battling through the difficulties he had faced, whether that includes a lack of receiving weapons, poor line play or the Tim Tebow situation.

“I’ve talked him about this ... ‘It doesn’t matter, Mark,’” Cavanaugh said. “‘You want to play QB in the NFL. It doesn’t matter. Everything that’s going on around you? Learn how to handle it. That’s what great ones do.’”

About

J.P. PELZMAN joined The Record in April 1998. He began his career at the Ocean County Observer in Toms River, where he spent one year before leaving for Newsday on Long Island. At The Record, he was the primary backup on the New York Jets’ beat for nine seasons, from 1998-2006, before becoming the beat writer in 2007. Pelzman also has been The Record’s beat writer for Seton Hall men’s basketball since the 2002-03 season.